Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University show that, when pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or stem cells created using a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) are compared, the genomic and epigenomic landscapes of the resulting cell types differ with the genomes of stem cells created through SCNT matching those of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) derived from early human embryos more closely. The present study is important because it is the first to compare the genetic variability of SCNT-derived cells to that of IVF ESCs. The somatic-to-stem-cell conversion results in the acquisition of these aberrations and is not somehow secondary to this process.